The President of South Korea, Moon Jae-in has led his government in signing the contracts for the World’s largest offshore wind farm to be built in South Korea that is estimated to cost US$43.2 billion and will generate electricity to the capacity of 8.2 GW. This news comes after the president initiated his administration’s Green New Deal in 2020. a plan that is designed to advance the country toward carbon neutrality by 2050. Once fully linked to the grid, the offshore wind farm will produce as much energy as six nuclear reactors. Its size will dwarf that of the UK’s Hornsea 1 installation – the world’s largest offshore wind farm today, boasting 1.12 GW of generation capacity.
Also Read: South Korea inches closer to floating nuclear power plants.
The Blue House, South Korea (the president’s official residence) said the offshore World’s Largest Offshore Wind Farm in South Korea would provide as many as 5,600 jobs and help the country meet its target of 16.5 GW of wind power capacity by 2030. Currently, it’s at 1.67 GW. As it stands, liquefied natural gas and coal imports play a major role in its energy mix. In 2020, 40% of its electricity came from coal-fired power plants, followed by gas-fired units providing around 26%. Nuclear energy supplies around 25% and renewables account for most of the remainder. There are 24 nuclear power plants in the country, with most of them located at two complexes in its densely populated southeastern region – near Busan, Gyeongju, and Ulsan, which are home to several heavy manufacturing plants.
According to the Norway-based energy research group Rystad Energy, global offshore wind power capacity is set to increase by 37% this year. Although mostly from new installations in China. Companies that will be involved in the construction include Hanwha Engineering & Construction Corp, Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO), CS Wind Corp, SK E&S, Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction Co., and Samkang M&T Co. These and any other companies involved will provide around 98% of the financing, with the government providing the rest.
